You Can't Control Poor Outdoor Air Quality, But You Can Protect Your Health
Chances are, when you’re getting ready for the day, you take a quick look at the local weather. Most people do! How hot will it be? Any storms on the horizon? Outfits, plans, and “don’t forgets” are all tied to those answers.
How is the air quality, though?
Unless there are major devastating events, such as wildfires, most of us don’t check air quality nearly as much as we should.
Here’s why it should be a part of everyone’s daily routine:
Why monitor air quality?
The average person breathes around 2,000 gallons of air a day–almost enough to fill up a swimming pool. Air remains one of the largest routes of exposure we face, yet it’s not typically at the forefront of health and wellness conversations.
Exposure to poor air quality triggers a multi-systemic effect, meaning that adverse reactions can span the entire body. Respiratory distress, widespread inflammation, headaches, fatigue, and cognitive function are just a few of the possible effects. Long-term exposure1 can lead to more dire consequences, including cancer, heart disease, and neurological impairment.
The biggest issue? Most of the time, we can’t see the health hazards in the air around us because they’re microscopic. By monitoring our air quality, we can be better prepared to take action to reduce our exposure to contaminants and protect our bodies.
Seasonal air quality risks
Air quality risks fluctuate based on the time of the year. For example, wildfires are one of the most prominent air quality issues during this period. Smoke can contain many different chemicals like aldehydes, acid gases, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, benzene, toluene, styrene, metals, and dioxins, all of which we do not want to be breathing in at high concentrations2.
Humidity fluctuations are another important factor to consider. Mold can grow in humidity of 60% and above. So when outdoor humidity increases levels indoors, it can allow for microbial growth to develop, negatively impacting our indoor air quality.
Other factors to consider include increased storms (which can bring water damage), ozone, and higher particle levels from things like pollen or mold spores.
How to monitor your local air quality
The most common way to monitor your air quality is to look at the Air Quality Index. This index assesses air quality by measuring the levels of five major pollutants: ground-level ozone, particulates, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide.
These measurements are then combined to indicate the healthiness of the air, ranging from 0 to 500. The higher the number, the higher the level of pollution in the air. As for the score, anything under 50 is considered good, whereas anything over 300 is hazardous.
Between apps like the Weather Channel, local news channels, and websites such as AirNow, there are numerous ways to find the AQI data for your local area. A good practice is to take a look every morning, so that you can properly plan to protect your health that day.
Safeguarding your indoor air quality
When outdoor air quality remains low, our indoor spaces matter more than ever. What happens outdoors doesn’t stay there. It can make its way inside, impacting the health of our indoor environments. Considering that we spend around 90% of our time inside, they actually matter year-round!
To protect our bodies from airborne hazards, the focus should be on avoidance and elimination.
Here are some great steps to take to protect your indoor environment and ensure it’s supporting your wellness:
- Keep windows and doors closed to minimize outdoor air infiltration.
- Ensure all air purifiers are turned on to actively clean the indoor air.
- Regularly check and replace air filters to maintain their effectiveness.
- Utilize the highest-rated MERV filters that your HVAC unit can accommodate.
- Avoid burning candles or using aerosols, which can introduce additional pollutants.
- Set the HVAC system to recirculate or fan mode, but remember to close the intake if it's a fresh air system.
- Clean using botanical alternatives.
Again, the overall goal of protecting your indoor air quality when outdoor air quality is poor is to:
- Reduce the amount of airborne contamination that makes its way inside.
- Eliminate any outdoor contamination that does make its way indoors.
- Avoid any activities that add contamination to your indoor air.
Monitor your indoor air, too
Generally, when we think of monitoring air quality, we think of the typical outdoor air quality index that’s found on most weather apps. That being said, with most of our lives spent indoors, this air matters just as much, if not more, for our overall well-being.
When outdoor air quality is poor, it's doubly important to monitor the buildings we spend our time in. Indoor air quality monitors like the HomeCleanse Guardian can be used to detect not only particulate matter from wildfire smoke, but a range of other possible pollutants including VOCs, mold, and ozone. They can also measure factors that may include the development of contaminants like mold and bacteria, such as humidity.
By understanding what’s going on within your air, you can actively take steps to improve it when levels shift in unhealthy ways.
The takeaway
Checking the weather has become second nature to us. Air quality, both indoor and outdoor, deserves that exact same attention.
The air we breathe influences every system in our body. Taking small actions to protect ourselves from air pollution and actively improving the indoor spaces makes a meaningful impact on our overall well-being.
Don’t just protect yourself from getting caught in the rain, make sure you also know what you may be breathing in throughout the day.